Hawazin

The Hawazin (Arabic: هوازن / ALA-LC: Hawāzin) were an Arab tribe originally based in the western Najd and around Ta'if in the Hejaz. They formed part of the larger Qays tribal group. The Hawazin consisted of the subtribes of Banu Sa'd, Banu Jusham, and Banu Nasr as well as the powerful Banu Thaqif and Banu Amir, which were both often counted separately from the Hawazin. The tribe often clashed with their one-time patrons, the Ghatafan, and on occasion, sub-tribes of the Hawazin fought each other and several times with Mecca, Quraysh, and Kinana. The tribe had little contact with the Islamic prophet Muhammad after the advent of Islam and 630 AD when they were defeated by Muhammad's forces at the Battle of Hunayn. The Hawazin tribe were one of the first to rebel and fight against the early Muslim state based in Medina during the Ridda wars, which followed Muhammad's death in 632. According to oral tradition and genealogy studies, the modern-day tribes of Otaibah, Thaqif, Subay', and Suhool based in Saudi Arabia are descendants of the Hawazin.